Drew Parker on ‘Love the Leavin’,’ The Bluesy Ballad With a ‘Classic Edge’ That Country Hadn’t Bargained For

“It is definitely exactly where it lives,” Parker says.

He created “Love the Leavin’” in February during a co-write with Matt Rogers (“ ’Til You Can’t,” “Freedom Was a Highway”) at the Middle Tennessee home of Lindsay Rimes (“World on Fire,” “Cool Again”). Parker had finished recording his debut album — Camouflage Cowboy, released July 12 — so it was a low-pressure appointment. He brought up the title, written in his notes as “Love the Leavin’ (Out of You),” initially believing it should be witty and uptempo, an “I hate to see you go, love to watch you leave kind of thing,” Parker says.